Physicist Alexander Klotz of McGill University calculated that falling through a hole drilled through the Earth would take 38 minutes and 11 seconds, slightly faster than the previous calculation of 42 minutes and 12 seconds. However, drilling a hole through the Earth is impossible, and the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia only reached a depth […]
The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is the driest place on Earth, sustained by aqueducts and ingenuity. Astronomers benefit from crystal clear skies, while farmers use drip irrigation to grow crops. The area’s frequent fog nurtures plant communities called lomas, but in the harshest areas, nothing grows. Chile’s main export used to be nitrate from […]
The Tamu massif is the largest volcano on Earth, covering an area of over 120,000 square miles and located underwater off the east coast of Japan. It is believed to be 145 million years old and has been dormant for over 100 million years. The Tamu massif, the largest volcano on Earth, covers an area […]
Africa may split into two land masses within 10 million years due to a continental rift forming between the Arabian and African plates. Geologists are studying a 37-mile crack in Ethiopia’s Afar Region that is expected to widen and fill with seawater, creating a new island in the Indian Ocean. Geologists think Africa could split […]
Earth’s magnetic poles have reversed about once every 200,000 to 300,000 years, with the last major reversal occurring 780,000 years ago. Despite some predictions, scientists do not believe the next reversal will cause catastrophe. However, it could affect the planet’s protection from solar and cosmic radiation, and could confuse animals that use the magnetic field […]
The sun is 100 times the diameter of Earth and can fit about 1 million Earths inside. The sun’s mass accounts for 99.86% of the solar system. About 1.3 million Earths could fit inside the sun if empty space wasn’t needed. VY Canis Majoris is the largest known star. It is estimated that about 1 […]
The driest place on Earth is Antarctica’s polar plateau, with the McMurdo Dry Valleys being the driest known place. The Atacama Desert in Chile is also extremely dry, with some areas receiving no rainfall for centuries and the high coastal ridge being the driest place of all. Both areas have been compared to Mars. The […]
The oldest known rocks on Earth are 4.03 billion years old from the Acasta Gneiss in Canada. Other old rocks have been found in Greenland and Australia. Zircons from the Jack Hills in Australia are the oldest rocks at 4.4 billion years old and suggest the oceans may be older than previously thought. Only 7% […]
The Earth is within the solar system’s “snow line,” where water is rare. Earth has a lot of water compared to other inner planets due to several theories, including the addition of water from asteroids and biological processes. Most of Earth’s water comes from asteroids. The Earth lies within the solar system’s “snow line,” the […]
Earth has had three different atmospheres. The first was mostly hydrogen and helium, but it dissipated due to the heat of the molten crust and solar wind. The second was mainly carbon dioxide and water vapor, similar to Venus, and was 100 times denser than today. The third atmosphere was formed by cyanobacteria, which converted […]
The Earth’s structure is divided into four parts: the crust, mantle, outer core, and inner core. The crust is solid and makes up less than 1% of the Earth’s volume. The mantle is a plastic solid that flows slowly, creating convective currents. The outer core is molten and generates the Earth’s magnetic field, while the […]
The Earth’s mantle is a thick layer of compressed and heated rock that accounts for 70% of the Earth’s volume. It is largely composed of oxide compounds and differs in chemical ratios from the crust. The upper mantle flows smoothly and convection causes continental drift. The entire oceanic crust is recycled approximately every 100 million […]
The Earth has had at least five major ice ages, with the most recent one ongoing. Ice ages are caused by various factors and are cyclical, with glacial ice expanding and retreating rhythmically. During an ice age, positive feedback effects kick in, causing further temperature drops and increased glaciation. Most of the time, the Earth […]
The Earth’s core has two parts, the inner and outer, with the outer being mostly liquid iron and nickel. The inner core was thought to be a single crystal of iron, but recent theories suggest it is made up of dissimilar parts. The outer core is responsible for the Earth’s magnetic field and circulates due […]
The Earth’s magnetic field varies in strength depending on location, with regions near the poles having a stronger field. The magnetosphere affects the solar wind’s trajectory and the field’s total energy is large. The field’s orientation is reflected in cooled magma, which shows it flips every 250,000 years. The earth’s magnetic field varies depending on […]
The solar system formed from a cloud of gas and dust, with the Sun forming as part of the cloud collapsed under gravity. Earth was created about 4.54 billion years ago from material in the accretion disk. Stars form from giant molecular clouds, and planets can form from excess gas or dust particles clumping together. […]
Earthquakes in Chile and Japan in 2010 and 2011 shortened the length of an Earth day by 3.06 microseconds due to changes in mass distribution. Thrust earthquakes cause inward movement and can shorten days, while horizontal earthquakes have no effect. The length of a day varies by about 1,000 microseconds annually, and measuring it is […]
Earth has two other co-orbital satellites besides the Moon: asteroids 3753 Cruithne and 2002 AA29. Cruithne is 3 miles wide and orbits in synchrony with Earth, while AA29 is smaller and orbits in a horseshoe shape. The Earth is not a perfect sphere and may have had a second moon in the past. Earth’s best-known […]
The Earth formed 4.6 billion years ago, with the Moon forming from a collision with a smaller planet. The Hadean Eon saw the formation of the Earth’s crust and the emergence of primitive life, while the Archean Eon saw the evolution of autotrophs and the “oxygen catastrophe.” The Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic eras saw […]
Thousands of tonnes of space debris hit Earth each year, but most is in the form of dust. Large asteroids that could threaten Earth are rare. Asteroids and meteorites are different, and the largest asteroids are Ceres, Pallas, and Vesta. Asteroids enter Earth’s atmosphere every day, but rarely make it to the surface because they […]
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